Tecumseh, Ontario


Tecumseh is a town in Essex County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor and had a population of 23,229 at the 2016 census. It is part of the Windsor census metropolitan area, and is a part of the Windsor-Essex County region along with Amherstburg, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle and Leamington.
Tecumseh enjoys long summers and mild winters. Originally a small Franco-Ontarian settlement, Tecumseh now offers many restaurants, shopping areas, medical facilities, as well as industrial and commercial enterprises.
Food processing is a major industry in Tecumseh, as Bonduelle owns a food processing plant near the heart of the town. The plant originally was Green Giant 1931 and Pillsbury Company. Green Giant sold in the late 1990s to Family Tradition Foods. Family Traditions sold the food processing plant to Carrière Foods in 2006. Carrière Foods was then purchased in 2007 by Bonduelle.
The Tecumseh Corn Festival has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Festivals in Ontario by Festivals and Events Ontario, which is quite an honour considering over 3000 festivals taking place in Ontario each year.
Tecumseh is surrounded by Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. Detroit is easily accessible to Tecumseh residents by the Ambassador Bridge or the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel, both of which are located within the neighbouring municipality of Windsor.

History

In 1792, Tecumseh, then known as Ryegate Postal Station, had only three families. Ryegate Postal Station was renamed in 1912 during the death centennial of Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnee Tribe who was killed at battle in the War of 1812. Tecumseh had a large Franco-Ontarian population. When nearby Windsor started to grow into the area, there arose conflict between the Loyalists and the Canadiens.
The creation of Tecumseh Road in 1838 and the establishment of the Great Western Railway opened up the area for settlement. The town became an important railway depot and stopover for travellers. County residents took horse and buggy into Tecumseh and then transferred onto the train, journeying by rail the rest of the way into Windsor. Several hotels were started in Tecumseh to accommodate travellers. The Bedell Hotel, the Soulliere Inn, the Hebert and the Hotel Perreault were some of the places most frequented by travellers and locals alike.
The French were for the most part the original settlers of Tecumseh, the majority of them descendants of the Frenchmen who had established their seigneural land holdings along the banks of the Detroit River in 1700s.
As the Town of Windsor grew, Tecumseh began to experience new blood when the overflow of immigrants coming to the city began to settle in the peripheral regions as well. Indicative of the change was the mix-up created by the introduction of the tomato to the area of Tecumseh. Many of the English residents of the community refused to touch the suspicious red vegetable believing it to be a ″Love Potion″ concocted by the amorous Frenchmen. The first post office was located on the northeast corner of Tecumseh and Lesperance Roads and was operated by a Mr. Christie. Some of the first businesses in Tecumseh included a lumber mill operated by J.B.Cada; a grocery store operated by Arthur Cecile; a cheese factory on Banwell Road operated by Joseph Breault; a bakery owned by John Dugell; three butcher shops; a canning factory and a brewery eventually closed under Carling Brewery. In 1921 it was felt that Tecumseh was not getting its fair share of improvements in proportion to the taxes paid to the municipality of Sandwich East. A group of people headed by Malcolm Clapp petitioned the legislature to separate from the township and incorporate as the Town of Tecumseh with a population of 978. Dr. Paul Poisson was appointed as the first mayor of the town. The real growth in Tecumseh occurred in 1931 with the establishment of the Green Giant Factory as Fine Foods of Canada. Green Giant is still located in Tecumseh and continues to employ full and part-time workers.
As the population grew, so did the demands for services. The Ontario Provincial Police started policing the Town in 1948 with 2 officers. In 1922 a fire chief was appointed although no fire department was in existence, the fires were fought by town volunteers.
In 1999, as part of a reorganization of Essex County, Tecumseh was merged with the Village of St. Clair Beach, and the Township of Sandwich South into the Town of Tecumseh. In 2003, the City of Windsor annexed approximately from the Town of Tecumseh. Now considered to be a bedroom community of Windsor, Tecumseh is often cited as an example of urban sprawl; new subdivisions have developed on some of Canada's most valuable agricultural land beginning in the late 1980s.

Communities

Besides the town proper of Tecumseh itself, the town of Tecumseh comprises a number of villages and hamlets, including Fairplay, Maidstone, Oldcastle, Paquette, Paquette Corners and St. Clair Beach.

Governance

Town Council

The 2018 Municipal Election in the Town of Tecumseh, which took place on October 22, had a voter turnout of 37.43%. The official results for the municipal election were signed off by Laura Moy, Director of Corporate Services/Clerk for the Town of Tecumseh.
The positions of Mayor, Ward 1 Councillor, Ward 2 Councillor, and Ward 5 Councillor were all acclaimed.

Demographics

Tecumseh has a population of 23,229 people, a decrease of 1.6% from the 2011 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Tecumseh was $90,206, which is above the Ontario provincial average of $60,455. Most of the population is of Franco-Ontarian descent.
Mother tongue:
Aboriginal population:
Visible minority population characteristics:
Population Distributed by Age :
The average age in Tecumseh is 43.4 years old.

Infrastructure

Schools

French Catholic Schools:
French Immersion Catholic School:
French Immersion Public School:
English Public Schools:
English Catholic Schools:
Private Schools:
is the municipal bus service, operated by First Student Canada, which commenced on December 21, 2009.
A connection has been made to Transit Windsor services at Tecumseh Mall. The Tecumseh Transit service covers 30 kilometres and 43 stops, and operates using two buses.

Culture

Tourism and events

Tecumseh hosts many special events throughout the year.
It is also home to the Tecumseh Historical Museum run by the Tecumseh Area Historical Society.
It welcomes community involvement on both organization and participation in celebrating with the community.

Notable residents

Climate

Average Temperatures
High and Low
January: -0.06 and -8.17
February: 1.28 and -7.33
March: 6.56 and -2.94
April: 14.50 and 2.94
May: 20.61 and 8.33
June: 26.33 and 14.00
July: 28.56 and 16.17
August: 27.78 and 15.28
September: 23.78 and 11.28
October: 17.83 and 5.61
November: 8.78 and 0.17
December: 1.89 and -5.83

Flooding

Recent changes in global climate have caused increased flooding activity through Windsor-Essex, impacting Tecumseh directly. Two major flooding events occurred in 2016 and 2017, resulting in 190 millimetres and 140-200mm of rainfall respectively. During the 2016 flood, over 1500 homes in Tecumseh reported flood damage. The 2017 flood, according to Environment Canada, was the most expensive storm across Canada during 2017, with an insurance payouts totalling $154 million. States of emergencies were called by the Mayor of Tecumseh, as well as the Mayor of Windsor, due to the overwhelming amount of rain that accumulated within the area over such a short period of time.

Parks

Tecumseh has over 40 parks throughout the municipality, including Lacasse Park, Green Acres Park, and Lakewood Park. The Town maintains 200 acres of parkland within the municipality. The Town is also home to the membership-exclusive 18 hole golf course owned by Beach Grove Golf and Country Club.

Sister towns

Internet